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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · wind · saw · ball · pitcher · wound · stick · shower

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wind — moving air
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. shower — rain
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com